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The Best Donuts in Los Angeles

Updated on June 15, 2017

Donuts at Cofax Coffee | Photo by Joshua Lurie

L.A. is the U.S. city with the most donut shops, meaning it can be tricky to sift through the river of deep-fried rings. Clearly, Angelenos have displayed serious commitment to doughnuts (aka donuts), which originated in the 19th Century. Cake Monkey Bakery and Donut Snob also wholesale great donuts to different coffeehouses, but we’re focused on 20 L.A. places where you can find destination donuts on a regular basis.

10 Speed Coffee

Pedalers Fork anchors a multi-faceted establishment by a Calabasas creek that includes a bike repair shop out back and a roastery and café called 10 Speed Coffee. Every Thursday morning, pastry chef Jess Goodman stocks the display case with delectable raised donuts. Depending on the week, you might find chocolate glaze, vanilla glaze with rainbow sprinkles, cinnamon sugar, or maple glaze with bacon bits. In an effort to minimize food waste, Goodman also tops donuts with leftovers like brownies, cookies, and potato chips, the types of snacks cyclists crave post-ride.

Blinkie's Donut Emporium

Keep a close eye on Blinkie’s classic donuts. They’ve been known to sell out just past noon on weekends at this Woodland Hills strip mall. The display case holds airy raised and glazed donuts, crusty old-fashioned rings that look like blown truck tires (but taste much better). They even have a raiseddonut that riffs on the black-and-white cookie, with overlapping layers of chocolate and vanilla frosting.

Blue Star Donuts

Blue Star, the Portland import from Katie Poppe and Micah Camden, has branches in Japan and debuted on Venice’s fashionable Abbot Kinney Boulevard in 2015. The airy space features white walls, skylights, an open kitchen, and a blackboard that describes "Quality Over Quantity.” Donuts are crafted with French-style brioche dough crafted with sustainable Shepherd’s Grain bread flour, cage free eggs, whole hormone-free milk and European-style butter. Rings fry in rice bran oil, and staffers make and apply glazes and fillings throughout the day. Firmness levels vary, and some of the more creative flavor combinations include passion fruit cocoa nib, lemon poppy buttermilk, and blueberry bourbon basil. They also have a hard apple cider fritter with caramelized fruit.

Cofax Coffee Shop

Restaurateur David Reiss and chef Jason Travi transformed a boxy grey space on a Hollywood side street into a hub for New England-inspired comfort food. Sure, smoked meat poutine and lobster rolls are rewarding, but save room for Miho Travi’s apple cider donuts. Crisp-crusted sugar lined rings plated with a streak of apple butter and a ramekin of savory salted caramel.

Donut Friend

Drive Like Jehu drummer and Blink-182 producer Mark Trombino debuted Donut Friend in rapidly changing Highland Park in 2013. He stayed true to his rock roots by featuring a cartoon mural of bears playing a donut guitar and drum kit. He also riffed on bands when naming signature donuts, called “favorite compilations.” Fudgegazi is a play on hardcore band Fugazi that involves a sliced chocolate donut stuffed with chocolate cream and graced with chocolate shavings. Coconut of Conformity refers to heavy metal band Corrosion of Conformity and features a donut stuffed with coconut cream that’s topped with vanilla glaze, toasted coconut, and lime zest. You can also D.I.Y. with dozens of sauces, sugars, spices, toppings, creams, butters, fresh fruit or gourmet cheese.

The Donut Man

This 24/7 donut destination from Jim Nakano and wife Miyako might reside along vintage Route 66, but his strawberry or peach stuffed donuts are still state of the art. When they’re in season, people flock to Glendora to score hole-free glazed donuts packed with more than a quarter-pound of fresh fruit. At other times, regulars can still make due with deluxe tiger tails, maple bars, and donuts decorated with fresh strawberry jam.

Donut Snob

What sets Janeen Gudelj’s gourmet raised donuts apart from the pack isn’t just the variety; it’s also the layers of flavor and colorful presentations. Options include tart Razzy Lemon Lulu containing lemon curd and topped with julienne lemon peel; a S’mores riff called the Campfire, with chocolate ganache, Graham cracker crumbs and a molten marshmallow cap; and Rise and Shine with espresso glaze and dark chocolate drizzle. She also rotates seasonal rings. Her donuts are available select days at Barista Society at The Village in Woodland Hills, The Daily Dose in the Downtown L.A. Arts District, Hermanos Coffee in Mid-City, and Blue Butterfly Coffee Co. in El Segundo. Check the Donut Snob website for additional distribution and delivery.

Friends & Family

Friends & Family is the ambitious bakery, restaurant, and ice cream parlor from seasoned chefs Roxana Jullapat (sweet) and Daniel Mattern (savory). They launched in May with counter service for breakfast and lunch, and plan to add full-service dinner. Weekend brunch brings unique items like Jullapat’s sticky oat donut. She uses toasted oat flour from South Carolina’s famed Anson Mills and rounds out rings with all-purpose flour. “I wanted to make a donut with whole grain flour (oats in this case) that people would actually wanted to eat,” she says. “I thought ‘Who could refuse a donut dipped in sticky caramel and sprinkled with toasted pecans?’” We put up no resistance when faced with her fluffy, sticky donuts showered with crushed pecans.

Jon & Vinny's

Jon & Vinny’s, the airy Italian-American restaurant in Fairfax Village from chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, serves crave-worthy food from breakfast through dinner. They also hook customers with a prominent pastry case that rests on the counter in front of the kitchen, right on the walk from the front door to their booths. On the top rack, you’ll find Italian donuts called bombolone. Fluffy pillows of fried dough are filled with vanilla custard or Nutella (dusted with powdered sugar), or raspberry jam (rolled with sugar).

Kettle Glazed

Kettle Glazed is a classic donut shop that debuted in a strip mall by the 101 back in 2013. Sami Anz’s modern glass-fronted space features pastel green tiles, wood panels, and black tables with orange stools. The case houses trendy cronuts and cruffins, plus more traditional raised donuts like vanilla bean and glazed chocolate with crushed peanuts. Fun filled flavors include lemon curd, PB&J, and S’mores, which is plugged with marshmallow and plumed with Graham crackers.

Milo and Olive

The fourth culinary establishment from pastry chef Zoe Nathan and her restaurateur husband Josh Loeb incorporates the name of their son and features plenty of tantalizing baked goods on their countertop. Milo & Olive’s Old Fashioned Glazed Doughnut is a substantial ring with a glaze that touts light vanilla flecking. The texture has good bounce without veering into chewy territory.

Republique

Republique, the Cal-French brasserie from Walter Manzke and pastry chef/wife Margarita Manzke, may be the most versatile restaurant in the city. By night, they serve impressive seasonal plates in a space that could double as a culinary church. By day, Margarita fills a sprawling pastry case. Donuts are always a part of her repertoire. Bombolini, Italian donut balls, come in flames like crème brulee with custard, banana salted caramel, filled with jam, or coated in simple sugar. Raised donut rings are coated in glazes like sweet honey vanilla or citrus with Meyer lemon, orange and grapefruit.

The Sycamore Kitchen

Step inside The Sycamore Kitchen at your peril. This industrial chic café on a fashionable stretch of La Brea Avenue greets customers with a counter that’s practically overflowing with tempting baked goods. Chef/co-owner Karen Hatfield is the responsible party. She usually showcases pillowy raised donuts on a pedestal, which is where they belong. Flavors might include chocolate glazed, brown butter coconut, or rosemary caramel. The latter straddles the line between sweet and savory with cascading glaze, a sprinkle of sea salt and aromatic herbs.

Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts

Danny Trejo, the legendary badass from movies like Machete and From Dusk Till Dawn jumped feet first into the food world with Trejo’s Tacos. He and partners Ash Shah and Jeff Georgino quickly expanded to donuts and coffee at a bright pink space on a prime Hollywood corner. Pastry chef Dianne Crame created all of the donut recipes, many with creative Latin flavors. Margarita is a tangy raised donut flavored with tequila, lime, and salt. Nacho is a rare savory donut with molten Cheddar cheese, chives, and a one-two punch from jalapeno and Trejo’s hot sauce. They also make cake donuts like El Diablo with chocolate cake, dark chocolate glaze, cinnamon, and cayenne. A machete-shaped donut is also still in the works, to honor Trejo’s most famous role.

Voodoo Doughnut

Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon built one of the most divisive donut brands in the U.S., with kitschy offerings shaped like voodoo dolls and pentagrams topped with ingredients like breakfast cereal and crushed candy bars. They’ve also helped to popularize the now ubiquitous maple bacon combo and brought levity to plenty of other rings and bars. That freewheeling approach has propelled the duo’s concept beyond Portland to cities like Austin, Denver, and to start 2016, Universal City. A voodoo priest with a top hat and cane greets customers at the Universal CityWalk location with over 60 types of donuts, a Stumptown Coffee bar, and velvet Harry Dean Stanton painting. Their signature Hollywood Cream involves a maple glaze, Bavarian cream, and edible sunglasses. Grape Ape is a supple raised donut with vanilla frosting, grape dust and lavender sprinkles. They also have old fashioned donuts and crullers, but why bother?